Are India’s flying academies churning out less than capable pilots?

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Editor's note: It’s an operation that’s unprecedented for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA. Four teams of inspectors from the aviation industry regulator are out on the road, inspecting and auditing 32 flight training organizations across the country. Each team has three inspectors and has to audit a flight training organization, or FTO, against 200 parameters. “We are checking all the aspects, including airworthiness of aircraft, if trainee pilots undergo breath analyser test or not, use of navigational instruments, qualification of instructors… everything will be found out and strict action will be taken against those flouting regulations,” says a senior government official. “We have completed audits of four FTOs. This week, we will complete audits of four more. The plan is to cover all the FTOs within a month or two,” adds the official, speaking to The Morning Context earlier this week on condition of anonymity.  Already one flying school in Aligarh faces a shutdown. “The owner was crying, saying the children’s future will be destroyed. That’s stupid. Their practices are putting the very lives of children in peril,” says …